1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to floatation means for covering bodies of liquid such as water in a swimming pool, or other liquids such as oil or gasoline contained in open top containers or earthen basins. More particularly, the invention relates to a specifically shaped and constructed floatation device which, when associated with a sufficient number of similarly shaped and constructed floatation devices, cooperate to fully cover the surface of the liquid on which they float and function to transmit sunlight and thermal energy into the body of liquid while inhibiting the escape into the surrounding atmosphere of light and thermal energy from the body of liquid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A preliminary patentability and novelty search has revealed the existence of the following United States Patents:
Bodies of liquid, such as swimming pools, are covered for various reasons and by various structures as illustrated and described in the United States patents listed above, none of which appear to disclose the specific structure and function of the instant invention. One of the primary reasons is to prevent the collection of debri on the surface of the water, the debri being collected instead on the upper surface of the cover device from whence it may be blown off by wind or other mechanical type blower devices, thus preventing contamination of the swimming pool water. Another reason is to prevent the swimming pool from being used. These types of covers are usually sheet-like in their construction, covering the water with a debri impenetrable membrane that is frequently deployed and retracted by mechanical means. One disadvantage of this type of cover on a swimming pool is that if a child accidentally falls onto the pool cover and slips into the water beneath the cover, it is very difficult for the child to escape from under the membrane and it is difficult for others in the area to visually discern that a child has become trapped under the cover. These types of impenetrable covers are also used to prevent the evaporation into the atmosphere of water from the swimming pool.
Accordingly, one of the important objects of the cover device for liquids forming the subject matter of the instant invention is the provision of a cover device that will enable light and thermal energy to penetrate into the body of liquid to effectively manage the temperature of the liquid but will inhibit the transference of thermal energy from the body of liquid into the atmosphere.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cover device for liquids, which when associated with other like devices, will completely cover the surface of the liquid yet enable a person who accidently falls into the liquid to rise through and above the multiple cover devices so as to enable breathing of atmospheric air.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a swimming pool cover formed from a multiplicity of separate, physically abutting yet separable hexagonal devices that are transparent to sunlight and thermal energy from the sun but which are non-transparent to thermal energy reflected from the bottom of the swimming pool.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a prefabricated hexagonal floatation device formed with oppositely facing concave surfaces forming lenses which when associated with multiple similar devices cooperate to transmit into and disperse sunlight and thermal energy through the lenses and into the body of liquid covered by the multiple devices.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a prefabricated hexagonal floatation device as described in the preceding paragraph which is provided with a layer of reflective material applied to at least one of the concave surfaces of the device.
The invention possesses other features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will become apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.
In terms of broad inclusion, the swimming pool or commercial liquid tank insulation device of the invention comprises a specifically configured and dimensioned body of floatation material, preferably plastic, formed preferably in a hexagonal configuration in a selected size. For ease and economy of fabrication, the floatation device is injection molded in two identical halves, each formed with a peripheral flange, a first face that intercepts and is joined to the peripheral flange at its outer periphery and which face is provided with a centrally located concavity having a centrally located apertured lug projecting from the convex second surface of the front face. When the two halves of the device are mated so that their peripheral flanges abut, the central lugs abut and the concave surfaces face in opposite directions. The edges of the peripheral flanges of the two halves are then sealingly joined about their peripheries, as are the two abutting centrally positioned lugs, so that an annular hollow interior is formed between the outer peripheries of the flanges and the centrally positioned abutting lugs which are also sealingly joined. The light weight of the plastic from which the two halves are formed and the formation of a sealed hollow interior enables the device to float in the water or liquid, with at one of the concave lens-like surfaces being exposed to the sunlight during daylight hours. The concave lens-like surface transmits light and thermal energy through the opposite face of the device and into the body of liquid supporting the device. In one aspect of the invention, a thin layer of light and thermal energy transmissive material is applied to one or both of the concave surfaces to prevent thermal energy from passing from the body of liquid back into the atmosphere.